The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of New Guinea Impatiens plant, botanically known as Impatiens hawkeri, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `BFP-857`.
The new New Guinea Impatiens is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Arroyo Grande, Calif. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new cultivars with excellent basal branching, upright and medium growth habit, numerous large flowers, and interesting flower and foliage colors.
The new New Guinea Impatiens originated from a cross made by the Inventor of the proprietary selection identified as 712-LF as the male, or pollen parent, with the Impatiens hawkeri cultivar `Moorea` (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,147) as the female, or seed parent. The cultivar `BFP-857` was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Arroyo Grande, Calif., on Sep. 15, 1996.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken at Arroyo Grande, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Impatiens are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.